Category: Sex workers in India

Working for a human rights charity, my team and I spend a significant amount of time talking about sex. The right to have relationships with people – from friendships to sex – is part of each person’s fundamental human rights, guaranteed in law both internationally and here at home. But that isn’t the same as some rather unfortunate (and perhaps revealing) language reportedly used by a judge in a case currently at the Court of Protection, language which has hit the headlines this week.* He is quoted as saying “I cannot think of any more obviously fundamental human right than the right of a man to have sex with his wife – and the right of the State to monitor that.”

Capitalizing on the strengths of their smaller markets and the inexpensive cost of reaching audiences online, these innovative startups are cultivating specialties, offering ancillary services, and even becoming major media players in their respective markets//Crimson Tazvinzwa
To journalists at Slovak news startup Denník N, the murder of reporter Ján Kuciak underlined the importance of the experiment they started more than three years ago.

Kuciak was shot in February as he investigated links between the Italian mafia and political corruption in Slovakia for digital news outlet Aktuality.sk and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. His death revealed the lengths to which criminals, corrupt officials, shady businesspeople, and others would go to quash a story in the Central European country.

Sex workers across India are lobbying candidates in the country’s general election to support their demands for better health and welfare services in return for votes.

“We wanted to see which party accepts sex workers as part of the community,” said Kusum (who goes by only one name), president of the All India Network of Sex Workers (AINSW), which is coordinating efforts. “Some express support for us behind closed doors, but never in public.”